Stack ‘em up. Knock ‘em down.
Love them or hate them, zombies seem to be here for good. Sure, the games featuring them as main enemies have slowed down a bit and one of my favorite games of 2019, Resident Evil 2, has them predominately. Of course, people will get sick of them and come back to them. It’s inevitable. Based on the Brad Pitt movie that was based on the Max Brooks novel, World War Z was a zombie story that had one very unique aspect and luckily, the game has that to go by. So, let’s talk about the newest game to feature the rotting undead.
World War Z is a third person shooter that feels like a cross between Left 4 Dead and Killing Floor. Players pick a class to play as well as a character. The character doesn’t really matter, but the class does. Choosing a certain class will offer up perks and starting weapons that have certain play styles. The Medic has a healing gun, the Hellraiser loves the explosive options, and so on. A team with a nice variety will be needed when taking on the more challenging difficulties.
MSRP: $39.99
Platforms: XB1 (reviewed), PS4, PC
Price I’d Pay: $25.00
Gameplay will feel very familiar. Four survivors must make it from point A to point B all the while holding off the hoards of zombies. Along the way, they will run into safe rooms that store ammo, new weapons, and health packs. If you blink fast enough, you’ll think you’re playing a 3rd person Left 4 Dead. There are even elite zombies that have special attacks that can poison, pin, and otherwise pull a player out of the fray and must be helped by another survivor in order to get out.
What really sets World War Z apart from the other games in the same vein is the hoard mechanics. Much like in the movie, the flood of zombies will rush the players’ area sometimes cascading down from a high point or stacking up on top of each other to reach an elevated platform. It’s impressive to see and the physics work in a way that if players take out the legs of a stacking hoard, the entire thing will come falling down.
After each mission, players’ classes and weapons they used will gain experience points that will allow them to level up. Doing so will grant players with new perks they can pick and choose to power up both their skills and weapons.
The mission variety is serviceable, from the subway systems of New York to the streets of Tokyo, with all the different areas and objectives to complete in between. Each area has three episodes, with the final chapter having only two. That being said, with 11 missions total, it can keep players busy on a standard difficulty for about six hours. Obviously, players will be replaying missions or harder difficulties to unlock more things for their classes.
The entire game can be played with 4 player online co-op, and when taking on the more difficult missions, players will need those extra people. Finding a match was easy enough, but one big misstep was the lack of private lobbies. I could play with my friend, but would automatically be matched with two other players instead of just filling them in with AI bots. There was no way to change this. On top of that, if a co-op partner dropped, it wouldn’t automatically search for a new player, so I was stuck with an AI bot on a harder difficulty. While the AI is no slouch, having another player there to help out was optimal.
World War Z is a fine co-op zombie shooter. It doesn’t have the spark that Left 4 Dead had or the customization Killing Floor 2 had, but that didn’t stop me from having fun with the game. At a budget price, it’s a fine game that Left 4 Dead fans can have some good fun in, and seeing the hoard mechanics in play is something to behold. If you have three friends that are looking for a co-op game to plow through, you’ll find a fun on here even with the issues that it presents currently.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
